ED STODDARD, Johannesburg | Monday
DELEGATES from more than 120 countries have signed a treaty declaring war on some of the world’s most dangerous organic pollutants – with an exemption for DDT, which South Africa and other countries need to fight the lethal mosquito-borne disease malaria.
The talks, held under the auspices of UNEP, were the fifth round on banning persistent organic pollutants, or POPs, 12 of which – the so-called ‘Dirty Dozen’ – have been singled out for urgent attention. POPs, which include chemicals such as DDT and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), have been blamed for deaths, disease and birth defects among humans and animals.
Most of the Dirty Dozen, which threaten the health and well-being of humans and wildlife across the world, are subject to an immediate ban and a POPs review committee will consider additional candidates for the list on a regular basis.
The agreement represents a major victory for environmental diplomacy after the collapse of recent talks on curbing global warming.
“This is the first time that the global community has come together and made firm commitments to eliminate chemicals that are directly toxic to humans at a global level,” said Clifton Curtis, Director of the Global Toxic Chemicals Initiative for the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Two of the POPs, dioxins and furans, are the unintentional by-products of a variety of industrial processes including waste incineration, and will take some time to eliminate, especially in the developing world.
A financial mechanism has also been put in place to allow developing countries to meet the agreement’s requirements.
One of the obstacles to the agreement was a simmering dispute between the US and the European Union over “precautionary measures” that would include future POPs under the treaty even in the absence of full scientific certainty about their affects on human health or the environment.
“We got a good result… it’s almost surprising but I think everyone is happy. Environmentalists are happy with it and industry can work with it,” said Brooks Yeager, the head of the US delegation.
A treaty at ministerial level is scheduled to be signed in Stockholm next May. Diplomats expect it will take at least four years to get 50 countries to ratify it – the number needed to bring the treaty into effect.
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